Computers are used to enhance many aspects of everyday life. Computers are used in many products to augment functionality and provide users with improved service. For example, computers in cars can help monitor the maintenance necessary to maintain the vehicle in proper driving condition, help direct drivers to their destinations, and perform many other functions to enhance the user experience.
The ability of a computer to improve the experience of users is limited by the functional capacity of the computer. The functional capacity of computers is dependent on their circuitry. Traditionally, increasing functional capacity of binary circuits has been accomplished by means such as reducing the size of circuit components, adding more components to the circuit, and increasing clock speeds to hasten the computation process. The cost of increasing the functionality of circuits in these ways is significant and trade-offs must be made between cost and performance. In addition, increasing the amount of circuitry generally increases the power consumption. Particularly in applications where power and space are limited, increasing the functionality of computers is a difficult problem.
Non-binary, that is, using more than two voltage states to represent values in computation, may provide an alternative means to improve the functionality of computers at a lower price than traditional means of improving binary circuitry. However, traditional implementations of multi-value digital circuitry have suffered from issues such as excessive power consumption, excessive size, and lack of functionality comparable to binary circuits. Improved multi-value computation could provide an inexpensive means to improve the functionality of computers and enhance the experience of consumers who use them.